Rotherham Titans got back to winning ways with an impressive 7-try performance to beat a spirited Blaydon side 50-3 on a sunny, but blustery afternoon at Clifton Lane.
Titans’ tries came way of a brace from Harry Dunne and one each for Sam Veall, Jack Bergmanas, Callum Bustin and another brace from Lloyd Hayes, who also added a further 15 point from the tee.
Titans raced into the lead as early as the 4th minutes as Lloyd Hayes interchanged passes with Jack Taylor before showing good strength and pace to dot down.
Blaydon’s only score of the game came on 12 minutes as scrum half John Clarkson knocked over a 3-pointer from close range.
After that it was pretty much all Rotherham as a minute later full back Sam Veall extended his sides lead with some quick thinking, as he picked up from the base of a ruck and then dived over for an opportunistic try.
Surprisingly, the home side for all their dominance had to wait until just before the half hour mark to add to their tally and surprisingly it was the first catch and drive try of the season for a pack renowned for scoring tries this way. On this occasion it was hooker Jack Bergmanas who dotted down near the corner.
There was just time before half time for Lloyd Hayes to add a penalty which sent the hosts in for the oranges with a 22-3 advantage.
The second half followed a similar pattern of Titans dominance; although at no stage did Blaydon allow the home side an easy ride.
Nine minutes in and centre Harry Dunne secured the bonus point when off first-phase play he received a pass from Kai Ramrattan, before eyeing a gap in the defence to crash through near the posts.
Five minutes later and that man Lloyd Hayes was in the thick of it again; following turnover ball Callum Bustin made good ground and then offloaded to Harry Dunne who in turn cut nicely back inside before sending in Hayes for his second try of the game in the corner.
Titans’ sixth try came 10 minutes later after good ground was made by Alastair Donkor and then Callum Bustin got his hands on the ball and showed great strength to power over.
The final try came way of an interception which saw Harry Dunne race in from 45 metres to put the cherry on top of an overall good performance.
Titans will look to build on their display ahead of next week’s visit of Tynedale to Clifton Lane. Of particular focus may be the line out, as it did not function as well as it could have done; but other than that the South Yorkshire outfit will have been delighted with their shift.
Speaking after the game head coach, Adam Byron said:
“We asked the boys to right some of the wrongs we had last week, do the basics well and try to keep the scoreboard ticking after being nilled in the second half last week and I was really pleased that they were able to do that.
“Lloyd Hayes was outstanding again today; if he’s playing well that means we are playing well as a team because we are creating space in that 13 channel. He’s getting his hands on the ball and he’s able to do what he does well and that’s open sides up.
“I was pleased with how our scrum went today and also the fact our pressure in defence caused the errors to stack up, which in turn led to some opportunities at scrum time.
“We are very aware our line out is not quite where we would like it to be right now, but that is something we will continue to work hard on going forwards; but all credit to the boys to score 50 points in a game is outstanding, especially when one of your set pieces hasn’t functioned as you would have liked.”
Referee: Alex Rose
Attendance: 250
Yellow Card: Clarkson (Tynedale)
Titans: Dunne (2T), Veall (T), Bergmanas (T), Bustin (T), Hayes (2T, 6C, P)
Blaydon: Clarkson (P)
Titans: 15 Sam Veall, 21 George Tucker, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor, 10 Corben Ollivent, 9 Sam Boxhall (Ramrattan 47), 1 Charlie Capps (Donkor 50), 2 Jack Bergmanas (Inman 59), 27 Rikki Stout (Denman 50), 4 Zak Poole (Capt.), 5 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 6 Marcus Payne (Bustin 50), 7 Rupert Kay (Payne 66), 8 Lewis Wilson.
Replacements: 16 Louis Inman, 17 Gareth Denman, 18 Alastair Donkor, 28 Callum Bustin, 20 Kai Ramrattan.
Blaydon: 15 Nathan Bailey, 14 Zac Thompson, 13 Fergus Simpson, 12 Alex Clark (Richardson 63), 11 James Cooney, 10 Daniel Marshall (Capt.), 9 John Clarkson (Dube 67), 1 Matthew Siddle (Laidler 37), 16 Danny Gray (Duffy 71), 0 Ralph Appleby (Turnbull 53), 4 Darren Barry, 5 Jack Inglis, 6 Will Varley, 7 Liam Wright, 8 Alex Charlton (Siddle 79).
Replacements: 18 Sam Laidler, 2 Kieran Duffy, 17 Adam Turnbull, 19 Thabo Dube, 23 Andrew Richardson.
